This week’s Friday Feature is the ever so creative, Louise from Two For Joy Illustration. Louise is an award winning (very rightly so!) illustrator and designer – with a focus on cheerful cards and stationery… although, as you’ll read in her interview below, it sounds like she might expand into other products in the coming years, which is a bit exciting!
Let’s get started…
So many different things. I would say I’m design-led, so i create a range of illustrations around maybe something topical – like my love for postboxes – or an idea I’ve had for a clever card (Like my children’s cards which all have crafty cut out activities on the back) – or even sometimes just colours. Technique is always really inspiring for me – understanding what can be done with the materials, and then having an idea based from that. For example my vibrant verse cards, the idea came to me after a visit to my greeting card manufacturing facilities, they said they could digitally foil and then run the card back through another printer, and instantly I just thought omgosh I have an idea. I have so many ideas they don’t stop. Sometimes they wake me up in the middle of the night and I have to write them down or I can’t sleep. It’s just a case of choosing which one to go with!
Yes for sure – I have early memories of making things, whether it be pen organisers from cardboard tubes or making full 3D houses out of paper and tape, and always loving anything crafty. I remember doing lots of sequin art and paint by numbers as a child. I never really stopped – taking Art and Textiles at GCSE level, then both as A Levels, then onto a foundation diploma in Art and Design, then onto BA (Hons) Decorative Arts at university – then all my jobs have been quite creative.
I first got into illustration properly at university. I was walking round on our induction and was totally mesmerized when I saw students screenprinting their own fabrics, their own designs, and drawings. I knew there and then I wanted to create my own fabrics – which became more of a ‘surface pattern design’ thing, and I learnt how to get my drawings into photoshop and manipulate them into repeat prints. At uni we did lots of everything, but didn’t have loooaads of time to do each thing, and so when I left uni, I went on an online course to learn Adobe Illustrator. It was the best thing I ever did, iI now use this programme every single day.
I got into cards actually sort of by accident – one of my first full time jobs out of university was heading up a textiles department at a giftware company locally to me. I was screenprinting, pressing and making all sorts of things like cushions, tea towels, make up pouches, etc., but the company was new to textiles and they were mainly a greeting card printing company, amongst other things. One day my lovely boss, remembering my portfolio from my interview, asked me if I wanted to design some greeting cards, as they had a paperchase submission coming up. He gave me some guidance on best practices but I had free reign on design. Long story short I got into paperchase with those cards, and I ended up with a design license with them, with over 200 cards designed and most of them translated into Welsh too.
I left that job but the cards stuck, I continued with my license and joined to Greeting Card Association, and attended ‘The Ladder Club’ which is a workshop run by Progressive Greetings, which taught me everything I needed to know about being an indie greeting card publisher.
The flexibility. I always say, I am a full time parent and a part time creative. It’s so important to me that I can spend time with my children but also be creative.
In three years time I’d like to have expanded back into more giftware. I used to do all sorts; tea towels, coasters etc., and then I pulled it all back to cards and paper projects – letting myself launch my craft kit Advent Village because ‘it was made of paper’ – but actually I’d like to branch back out to other products.
Also to be in more shops. I’m really enjoying wholesaling and building relationships with indie retailers. I love working to a brief and when they give me feedback it gives me a huge creative motivational boost to design and service these customers.
My favourite creative project – well there have been so many but the one that stands out in my mind was working with English Heritage. I designed a range of giftware for them, it was my illustrations based around their theme of ‘medieval castles and doors’ and I illustrated all these old castle doors and window openings from their buildings. Made a repeat pattern and then we printed elements of it on all sorts of products, from glasses cases to door stops. Then I went and saw it in the shops. It was a real pinch-me moment.
Self-motivation. We all have days where we don’t want to work and would rather stay tucked up in bed. Sometimes it’s really hard to be motivated but it’s an important trait to have.
Hmmmm…. I wish people understood that sales does not equal profit. Self employed people, and especially stock/product based self employed, have so many costs – so yes my cards are £4.00, but if I sell 100 at an event, I’m not walking out with £400 for a days work. I think its easy to make those assumptions when you see someone doing well. But sometimes the actual profit is only 15% of that. Compare that to a ‘normal’ employed person doing an hour of work and coming out with £12.50 in their pocket, at a minimum…. along with a pension contribution… it’s hard! It is harder I think than being employed. But you get the flexibility, and even though I may not be as successful financially as someone who is employed, I am ‘richer’ in that, I get to hang out with my family all the time.
Me and my partner are a team. We are both self employed and we do things pretty equally. It’s just a toss up between who has more work on, they get more time. We do try and make sure one of us is always working at any one point. I imagined us both being self-employed would be having morning coffee shop dates but sadly not!
I really wanted to get into architecture. I enjoy maths, love being creative and love problem solving. I often think about it.
If you haven’t already found us over on Instagram – why not come say hi and give us a follow. We would love for you to join the conversation.
Any and all opinions expressed by third parties in our content are not necessarily the opinions of FCS. All FCS content, including content provided by third parties, is intended for general guidance and inspiration. Third-party products and services mentioned in content have not necessarily been tested by FCS. Any content feature, mention of a third-party product or service, or link to a third-party business and/or external site, does not suggest an endorsement from, or affiliation with, FCS. FCS is never paid (or directly compensated) for any features, opinions, or information provided in our content about any third-party services, products, sites or miscellaneous topics – unless clearly stated otherwise.
